Advocating for the right of consenting adults to share and enjoy love, sex, residence, and marriage without limits on the gender, number, or relation of participants. Full marriage equality is a basic human right.

They spoke only to confirm their names and enter their pleas in front of Judge Peter Hughes QC.

They had sex between December 2011 and February 2012.

So they had sex. And what terrible thing happened as a result??? Judge Peter Hughes QC should've thrown this case out! They will be sentenced in April. Absurd.

THIS is exactly why we need rights for all consenting adults, all over the planet. They should not only be free to be together and love each other as they see best, but marry if that is what they'd like. Instead law enforcement resources are wasted in prosecuting them.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

New Act Leader Jamie Whyte is standing by his comments that incestuous relationships between consenting adults should not be illegal and says it would be "intellectually corrupt" of him not to be honest when asked such questions.

In an article published on The Ruminator website, former philosophy lecturer Dr Whyte was asked whether the state should intervene if adult siblings wanted to marry each other.

Good for him.

Dr Whyte told the Herald his response was based on his belief that: "I don't think the state should intervene in consensual adult sex or marriage, but there are two very important elements here - consensual and adult".

Prager's prediction dovetails with those of other marriage equality opponents who similarly suggest that necrophilia and bestiality might
become commonly accepted practices if gay couples are allowed to marry.
But in the 10 years since Massachusetts became the first state to
legalize marriage equality, there hasn't been a rush to legalize polygamous unions. Meanwhile, most states that allow incestuous marriages are right-leaning states where same-sex marriage currently isn't allowed.

As Slate's Dahlia Lithwick has observed,
the problem with "slippery slope" arguments of the kind advanced by
Prager is that they ignore the deep differences between allowing a
committed, loving same-sex couple to get married and permitting, say, a
brother and sister to get married. Incestuous relationships, Lithwick
notes, are often exploitative and psychologically destructive, with severe consequences for children's health.

Here is how I responded in the comments (with links added here for further reading)...

The response to bigots when they bring up polygamy and consanguinamory
is "What's wrong with letting consenting adults marry?" Please note that
under our broad legal systems, corpses and other species (necrophilia
and bestiality) are not considered consenting adults. However, a
consenting adult might want to marry more than one person, or marry a
close relative. When (white) women got the right to vote, there wasn't a
rush for voting rights for people of color, and when Loving v. Virginia
knocked down bans on monogamous interracial marriages, there wasn't a
rush to grant to same-gender freedom to marry, but there should have
been.

It is unfair to say that incestuous relationships are
often exploitative and psychology destructive. That is ABUSIVE
relationships in general, which can include complete strangers and
interracial couples same-gender couples. Also, it is the abusive
relationships that tend to come to the attention of law enforcement and
counselors. Nobody in a good relationship is calling up a shrink or law
enforcement and saying, "Hey, I just want to tell you I'm in an
incestuous relationship and it is great!"

The "mutant baby"
argument is a smokescreen. First of all, some consanguinamorous
relationships involve only people of the same gender. Yes, they are gay
marriages, so to speak. I have interviewed people in these relationships
myself. Secondly, marriage shouldn't be equated with baby-making. Not
all mixed-gender relationships birth biological children. Thirdly,
contrary to myth, most births to consanguineous parents do not produce
children with significant birth defects or other genetic problems (I
know some of these children, and so do you, whether you know it or not);
while births to
other parents do sometimes have birth defects.
Heterosexual couples with obvious, series genetic diseases are not
prevented from dating, having sex, having children, or marrying, so the
"mutant baby" argument is not a justification for stopping genetic
half-sisters who didn't even grow up with each other from marrying.

I
expect more from Media Matters than to throw some consenting adults
under the bus to assuage bigots. There is no good reason to deny that we
must keep evolving until an adult, regardless of gender, sexual
orientation, monogamy or polyamory, race, or religion is free to marry
any and all consenting adults. The limited same-gender freedom to marry
is a great and historic step, but is NOT full marriage equality, because
equality "just for some" is not equality. Let's stand up for EVERY
ADULT'S right to marry the person(s) they love. Get on the right side of
history!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

If you've been unable to keep up with the all of the news of the building momentum for nationwide full marriage equality in the US, Jonathan Capehart at washingtonpost.com has posted a useful graphic of the status of the limited monogamous same-gender freedom to marry in the various states.

During an appearance on
“Now with Alex Wagner” on Friday, I had to sneak a peek at the cheat
sheet I made for our discussion about the same-sex marriage victory
in a Virginia federal court. Ever since the Supreme Court struck down
the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the lower federal courts
have been busy hearing challenges to state statutes and constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage.

He draws the obvious parallel to where bans on interracial marriage were when the Supreme Court struck them down. The graphic is larger at the link.

There is no good reason to deny that we must keep evolving until an adult, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion is free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage (or any of those without the others) with any and all consenting adults, without prosecution, bullying, or discrimination.

The lives of five brothers and sisters born in North Dakota who were
separately adopted at infancy took the twists and turns that 50 years
bring. Some moved to different states; some married; some had children.
But none of them ever knew the others existed.

Then, the obituary
of their biological mother presented a clue. And when they finally met,
one brother realized he wasn't so unfamiliar with one of his siblings.
John Maixner had been greeted a half a dozen times or so by his sister
at their local Walmart in Dickinson, N.D., where she has worked for 23
years.

Again, this is not a Genetic Sexual Attraction article, but there are some things to note (especially when you consider that up to 50% of people in a reunion/introduction do experience GSA)...

Imagine growing up as an adopted child, and at age 25 getting at Facebook message from a stranger who looks exactly like you.

That's what happened to Samantha Futerman, an actress living in Los Angeles.

"On February 1st, 2013, I got message on Facebook from a girl in London," Futerman said. "It said she had seen me in YouTube video, then after looking my name up online, saw that we were both adopted, and born on the same day, in the same city. When I saw her profile, it was crazy. She looked just like me."

The girl who had sent the message was Anais Bordier, a French fashion designer in London.

Modern communications and travel make reunions more likely.

They had their DNA tested to erase any doubt.

The result proved what their faces told them all along: they were sisters.

Bordier said she had always felt as though something was missing in her life. She never knew that, after she and her sister were born, they were each placed in separate foster care agencies and adopted separately.

I’m glad they found each other.The sexual part of GSA will usually only come into play depending on sexual orientation. For example, if two sisters who have no sexual attraction to other women are reunited, their reunification/introduction isn’t likely to cause an exception. However, related aspects can come into play, such as experiencing a strong bond.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

(Time to bump this entry up to congratulate Stephanie Seymour on being the the new face of Estée Lauder. ALSO see update at the end.)

Here’s an example of someone trashing the beautiful Stephanie Seymour for daring to be affectionate with her son in public. I’ll edit the quotes slightly to remove language that some people still get upset about.

One of the things that has me saying “Are you f------ stupid?” are the photos of Stephanie Seymour and her son.

She goes on…

The photos do look like she’s making out with her son. A little creepy…yes!

Why is that creepy?

Is it normal for a son to cop a feel of the boobies?

For some people, yes. Jealous?

Turns out her son is gay. Which apparently makes it ok to make out with your hot Mom on a beach.

It’s okay for any adult to be affectionate with any consenting adult on a beach. It should certainly be legal.

My question is, “Are you f------ stupid?”

Maybe they were simply having some minimal affection. Or maybe it is a sign of more. What’s the problem? What’s stupid is trashing others for sharing love and affection.

I have to admit, I’m vey curious to hear your thoughts on the pics.

My thought is that it is too bad that everyone can’t be on such good terms with their parent or child.

God
at creation was very pro-incest. But people over time get major nudity
and sexual hangups and pass their personal hangup onto others. God wants
us to love one another and humans are best lovers when they are making
love sexually. Sex is great because it bring people close together
lovers.

Adam and Eve were brother/sister because they had the same DNA closer then any incest couple today. Abraham
and Sarah were brother/sister marriage. All animals and humans were
created "one male, one female" meaning everything God created all had
incest.

This is how God chose it to be. But today we copy evil,
sinful, confused, corupt thinking Adam and Eve and in everyway God
creation plan is made illegal. God want all people to be nudist. But if
you walk down the street nude they put you in Jail.

God grave
all creation at creation public sexual freedom to have many sex partners
over a life time. But if today you have sex in public they put you in
jail. If you marry many people today they put you in jail.

God
given sexual freedom and even Israel always had legal prostitution but
today many place they outlaw prostitution and put you in jail.

God was very pro-incest at creation but today they want to put you in jail it you have incest.

So
they make major law against every part of God's creation plan. And then
they think they are "godly" for doing so. Totally backwards.

Today Christians are under the Law of Love, Not some long list of Jewish laws from the OT Bible.

We
are not under Lev 18 Jewish laws against incest made 2600 years after
creation. These laws were for the Jewish people only and were for a
special place and special time. Most of them it says Don't do this
because it may bother so and so. Remember they were living in Tents and
had NO privacy at all. They had lots of sexual hang ups.

Today
we are "NEW CREATION" in Christ , the same as Adam and Eve were a "NEW
CREATION" in God. We have the same freedoms as Adam and Eve and all
creation had before they sinned.

But we live in a world that
obeys evil, confused, corrupt thinking Adam and Eve thinking after they
sinned and disobey God. and they think that is spiritual instead. The
opposite is true.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Two recent search phrases people used to find this blog caught my attention.

The first one was “consensual adult incest support group.”

I am not aware of an in-person support group for people who are in consanguinamorous relationships, although I do remember someone planning one, and couples I helped to introduce to each other have met up in person.

I am aware of few online forums. The one I most strongly recommend is the free (and porn-free) Kindred Spirits forum. If you want to join that forum, be sure to read and immediately follow all of the rules, or you won’t last long there.

The second search phrase was “I saw my grandmother have incest with my uncle.”

I’m going to assume from the choice of words that we’re talking about consensual sex between adults. After all, it would be hard to have a child old enough to do that search if one was not an adult. It wouldn’t be incest if this was a grandmother from one parent having sex with another parent, so this was probably about a woman have sex with her own adult son. Even then, if he was adopted or a stepson, it isn’t incest in the biological sense, although it may be from a social or legal sense.

The fact is, most adults have sex. Sometimes, they have sex in front of other people or where others see them, whether they intended other people to see them or not. And some of those adults having sex are closely related. Provided they weren’t having sex in a public place or in someone else’s home, I would be more concerned about whether or not the people having sex were cheating on anyone than their relation to each other. Even then, other people having consensual sex isn’t really a matter in which one should interfere. Being invited to join is another matter. Here are my recommendations to someone who has discovered that someone they know is consanguinamorous.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

“In parts of northern India there are 300 women to 1,000 men,” says
Sharmila [Chauhan]. “Polyandry is not normal but it is becoming more common.”The latest new drama to come to the Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth, might sound heavy stuff but is not all darkness.“There are lighter moments. It is turned on its head.“It looks at the relation between the husbands. There is a feeling of brotherhood and tenderness.“It is intense but there are moments that are surprisingly funny.”

Sounds like it would be interesting.

She says, though, that polyandry and matriarchal societies
are not as rare as many believe, especially if you travel in history or
in time. “I went to Kerala (southern India), to see the way of life of
the Nair people who used to be matriarchal. I have done lots of research
about polyandrous communities across the world in Africa, parts of the
Far east and south Asia.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

As we know, where consanguinamory is still criminalized, "incest" can mean a variety of things. Unfortunately, the text of the article doesn't shed much light on the situation.

A REGISTERED sex offender who failed to comply with his reporting conditions before missing two court dates now has two months of jail hanging over his head after facing court.

The 24-year-old man, who can not be named, became a reportable offender in 2008 after being convicted of incest.

No more information about the original case is given. In 2008, he was 18 years old, give or take. Assuming the original case was about something that happened in Queensland, it isn't criminal to have sex with someone who is 16 years or older unless "sodomy" is involved or unless they are closely related, which are ridiculous restrictions. So, it is entirely possible this man to have been convicted of "incest" for having had consensual sex with a 17-year-old sibling, half-sibling, nephew or niece, whether they were raised together or not. If that is what happened, it shouldn't have been a criminal matter in the first place, he shouldn't be a "sex offender," and nobody should care that he didn't report.

On the other hand, he could have been molesting or assaulting a 3-year-old, in which case he shouldn't be walking free at all right now.

But we have no way of knowing, because "incest" is applied to both situations, and the journalists who put this story online were probably just repeating what an insufficient court announcement said, without anyone asking for clarification.

Rep. Jerry Anderson, R-Price, said
House Bill 56 was inspired by a federal judge's ruling in December
striking down part of the state's law banning polygamy, following legal
action brought by the stars of a TV reality series "Sister Wives." The
court ruling threw out the state's section of law prohibiting
cohabitation, saying it violates the constitutional guarantee of due
process and religious freedom.

Not to mention freedom of association, right to privacy, etc.

His bill is only 29 lines long, and
essentially changes the definition of cohabitation and then points out
under existing law, bigamy is a third-degree felony.

Bigamy shouldn't be a crime unless it involves fraud. An adult should be free to marry any & all consenting adults. If someone is married and they are marrying another, that shouldn't be hidden from current spouses. Absent that sort of deception, there's no reason for polyamorists to be denied their fundamental rights.

He said the state's existing
bigamy definition forces many people into the shadows. He said
thousands of schoolchildren list their fathers as unknown, to avoid
dealing with the implications of being in violation of the law.

He
said the state's existing definition of bigamy puts police officers in a
tough position.

Such children can be born with extra toes, three eyes, and they can
also grow to become homosexual, they may also have a low IQ and a
potential to mentally harm future offspring, says the website. It also
notes that such children can become people who are not able to interact
with others or express love.

First of all, they were not prosecuted for having children. They were
prosecuted for having sex. There is a difference. Also, all the
columnist described above happens with unrelated lovers, too. In fact,
we do not prevent people with obvious, serious, genetic diseases and
birth defects from dating, having sex, having children, or marrying. But there are hundreds of millions of children from first cousins who are healthy, attractive, bright, and very social. Finally, there's nothing wrong with being gay.

The New York Times recently reported that first cousins are somewhat
more likely than unrelated parents to have a child with a serious birth
defect, mental retardation or genetic disease, but their increased risk
is nowhere near as large as most people think, the newspaper quoted
research done by some scientists.

“Traditionally, such matters were dealt with by chiefs who then would
find the rightful people to raise products of incest. We have to go
back to our roots and see how best these matters can be dealt with the
Zimbabwean way because these children are innocent victims of incest,”
Kandiero said.

You know what makes children the biggest victims? When strangers use the power of unjust laws to force their parents apart and break up their home and brand their parents as criminals.

Very bad idea. Not only would it move the nation away from, rather than closer to, relationship rights for all adults, including full marriage equality, but criminalizing CONSENSUAL adult relationships will make it harder for law enforcement to stop ABUSERS because resources will be diverted AND witnesses and victims will be less willing to cooperate out of fear of law enforcement.

Rodriguez said in a statement on Sunday that an Anti-Incest law is
needed to address the "rising" number of incestuous relationships
occurring in families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

That doesn't actually say why they should be criminalized. And the number probably isn't rising. They are just becoming more aware of the reality that has always been there.

Under Articles 37 and 38 of the Family Code of the Philippines,
incestuous marriages are void ab initio—from the beginning—for being
contrary to public policy.

That needs to be dumped.

The Anti-Rape Law of
1997, meanwhile, imposes the death penalty for rape when the victim is
under 18 years old and the offender is a relative within the third civil
degree, or when the offender is the common-law spouse of the parent of
the abused individual.

So children are already protected.

Under HB 3329,
incestuous sexual relations with consent between ascendants and
descendants of any degree, as well as between brothers and sisters
whether of the full or half blood will be prohibited and considered
unlawful.

In-laws, stepparents and
stepchildren, adoptive parents and their children, as well as collateral
blood relatives, whether legitimate or illegitimate up to the fourth
civil degree, are also banned from having incestuous affairs.

Ridiculous.

Violators shall be punished with prision correccional, or imprisonment for from six months to six years.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

I’m not too cliché, but the idea of romance has always wooed me, though the necessity of love before sex never equated to waiting until marriage. In fact, I’ve always thought that’s a terrible idea.

Towards the end she writes…

But while this evidence proves that casual sex can cause heartbreak and mysterious genital burning, it also proves that humans are naturally inclined to fall in love and lust with multiple people. If we have the natural tendency to be polyamorous why impose unnatural sanctions against it?

First, I’d like to point out that any sex can cause heartbreak and mysterious genital burning. Aren’t many people heartbroken with the end of a serious relationship, in no small part because they were having sex? And a sexually transmitted infection can happen through sex, especially unprotected sex, with someone who is already infected, no matter how serious the relationship. Someone could have “casual” sex with a hundred people, and if none of them are infected, that person will not get infected.

But the other thing I wanted to get to was that, no, we should not impose unnatural sanctions against relationships. It is natural for a gay man to be attracted to, and love, other men. It is natural for a polyamorous person to love more than one person. This is why we should not use laws to reserve sex or marriage for only two people, or only heterosexuals couples.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Two members of the Feremenga family
from Dzivarasekwa Extension in Harare, whose incestuous relationship
resulted in two pregnancies, were yesterday convicted and ordered to
perform 630 hours of community service at different institutions in the
suburb.

Robson (21) and Ashley Feremenga (19), whose fathers are blood
brothers, pleaded guilty to incest charges when they appeared before
Harare regional magistrate Adonia Masawi and were slapped with a
36-month prison term each.

But Masawi later suspended 18 months of their sentence on condition
of good behaviour and again suspended the remainder on condition each of
them performs 630 hours of community service.

Got that? If you break up your family, you can stay out of prison. Of course, the bigots in the neighborhood are going to have a field day being sadistic towards you anyway, and we won't stop that. Because, you know, you shouldn't be allowed to love each other.

The court was nonetheless, left in stitches when the two relatives
insisted they wanted to stay together as a couple despite the
implications of their unlawful relationship.

The cruelty is appalling. First cousins have been marrying for all of human history. Everyone involved in prosecuting these two should look into their heart, if they one, and clear it of this hatred.

Hughes
isn’t specifically appealing his conviction, but instead the district
court’s decision to allow prosecutors to use evidence gathered during a
search of Hughes’ home. Leading up to trial, the defense filed a motion
to suppress on grounds that a search warrant request wasn’t supported by
probable cause, but District Judge Nancy Porter held that the warrant
was supported and the prosecutor’s evidence was permissible.

The
investigation and eventual search of Hughes’ home began in late 2008
after Kimberly Harphant, an acquaintance of Hughes, met with sheriff’s
detective Kevin McKinney. She brought with her an unsigned, handwritten
letter she said she took from Hughes’ home one day, as well as a
prepared document of cut-and-pasted emails between Hughes and the
victim.

Harphant had helped Hughes set up a business email account
to which she remembered the password, and had lent him a phone. She was
retrieving the phone when she found the letter, according to court
documents.

The letter appeared to indicate romantic love between
two people, but “in addition to a complete lack of attribution, it
contains no references to a past or existing sexual relationship,” the
brief states. Similarly, the emails’ authors were unverified and didn’t
mention sex.

The appeal brief asserts McKinney made little attempt to corroborate or verify the items Harphant presented to him.

Full Marriage Equality

About This Blog

I argue for marriage equality. By that I mean that society and all local, state, federal, and international laws, institutions, and programs should recognize any marriage registered by any persons without restrictions on the basis of race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

The global definition of marriage should be as follows: "The uniting of consenting individuals in a witnessed ceremony."

We believe everyone has the right to share love, sex, residence, and marriage with any and all consenting adult(s) of their choice, regardless of birth or sexual orientation.

The Fine Print

The focus of this blog is consenting adults. This blog does not advocate anyone engage in activity that is currently illegal in their jurisdiction; it does advocate changing or repealing any law that prevents the freedom of association, love, and full marriage equality for adults. This blog condemns rape, sexual assault, and child molestation, and frowns in the general direction of cheating. This blog exists mainly to evaluate information and direct others to information about current events; it does not provide medical, therapeutic, legal, financial, or cooking advice. This blog links to other sites for informational purposes; it does not necessarily support everything at those links.